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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30015075">'til you're bleeding sun</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/cruelhighways/pseuds/cruelhighways'>cruelhighways</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene, Short &amp; Sweet, azula please get some sleep, just two girls falling in love unawares</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:48:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,346</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30015075</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/cruelhighways/pseuds/cruelhighways</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Azula is near-exhausted from training, but Ty Lee pulls her back from the brink.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>102</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>'til you're bleeding sun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Azula is alone in the courtyard beneath the Fire Nation’s ashen night sky. Her skin glistens with sweat as she spins and leaps, body contorting into shape after shape as blue flames roar from her knuckles and feet. She’s been here since the break of dawn, working herself to the bone. Ozai usually supervises her training, but he left her a while ago with the simple instruction to <em>continue, Azula.  </em>She did, but she has no idea when she’s allowed to stop—if she even should stop. Some of her forms are painfully imperfect, riddled with minor errors that would go unnoticed by anyone except her caustic, scrutinising father. </p><p>Exhaustion should’ve caught up to her a long time ago, but it’s only now that Azula finds her razor-sharp precision beginning to slip. Betrayed by her own lack of focus, she trips over her own feet and only barely manages to catch herself on her wrist. Howling in pain and frustration, she curls the fingers of her other hand into a fist and slams it down onto the unforgiving stone tiles as she drags in rasping, fire-hot breaths.  </p><p>After closing her eyes for a moment, she forces herself to sit up. She isn’t good enough; she’s the only one who is good enough. Somehow, those two facts are simultaneously true. Nursing her sore wrist, she stands up and tries to refocus. If Ozai had witnessed that particular fuck-up, she’d be done for—which is why it can never happen again. </p><p>A familiar voice echoes across the courtyard, catching her off-guard. “Azula?”  </p><p>Feet falling back into the stance that has become second nature to her, she refuses to turn around. “Ty Lee,” she observes, allowing the familiar rage that fuels her blue fire to pool in the pit of her stomach as she raises her hands to continue training. But with Ty Lee’s gentle presence a few feet away, her familiar fire does not come. Exhaling sharply, she turns around. “Why are you here? I’m busy.” </p><p>Ty Lee looks tentative, but there’s no measure of apology in her expression. “You’ve been training for hours. It’s late. Don’t you ever rest?” A faint smile tugs at her mouth as she says it, but even Azula can recognise the smile for what it truly is: a veil of nonchalance crafted to hide her concern. </p><p>She hates that Ty Lee worries about her, especially because Azula never spares a second thought for her. Time isn’t a commodity that can be sacrificed on friendships. “I’m trying to perfect some forms,” she murmurs. Her head feels fuzzy—she should’ve taken a break for dinner. </p><p>“Okay,” Ty Lee responds smoothly, without a trace of discomfort. Azula envies her ability to do that. Stepping forward, she inclines her head. “Want to take a five-minute break? You can return to training after.” </p><p>Azula sneers at the proposal, though the idea of resting her aching joints sings to her, especially as she’d have Ty Lee to keep her company. “I can’t.” </p><p>“You can,” she rebukes. “C’mon, Azula. If you keep going, you’ll be too tired to wake up for training tomorrow.” </p><p>Silently, she weighs Ty Lee’s words. Being tired tomorrow is going to piss Ozai off. Still, there hasn’t been any improvement in her forms for days—but after a few more hours, maybe…? Screwing her eyes shut, she hides behind her iron self-control for the thousandth time. “I can’t,” she repeats. “I’ll find you at your dorm in the morning. Shouldn’t you sleep?” </p><p>Refusing to back down, Ty Lee crosses her arms. “I’m not leaving unless you take a break.” Tone softening, she steps forward again. There are a few paces of unfilled space between them; to Azula, it might as well be a lightyear. With pleading eyes, Ty Lee continues, “Five minutes—that’s all I’m asking.” </p><p>Azula is not the kind of person to crumble under the pressure of a few kind words, but her exhaustion, her anxiety, and Ty Lee’s unbearable softness have collided in a perfect storm. She wants to scream; she wants to break down; she wants to exude flame from every orifice of her body and vindicate herself. </p><p>Unclenching her fists, she steps forward and nods. </p><p>They walk up to their usual bench on an outcrop just below the palace. Ty Lee’s shoulder brushes Azula’s as they walk, her voice warm and yielding. “Your forms looked good today.” </p><p>Azula wants to ask how long she’d been watching, but scoffs instead. “You watched me trip over my own feet.” </p><p>“Still, you’re becoming more fluid. I know I’m not exactly a firebending master, but I know improvement when I see it.” </p><p>“Why’s that?” </p><p>Ty Lee shrugs, bare shoulders effervescent in the pale moonlight. “I spent years searching for improvement in myself. Every time my body stretches a little further—gives a little more—I feel fuelled by it. How else am I meant to stand out?” </p><p>The words clang through her. Sometimes the sheer enormity of the parallels she can draw between her and Ty Lee strike her a little too hard. “You don’t know anything,” she bites back. The words are harsher than she intended and in a futile attempt to relieve the unnecessary force, she adds, “I mean—you’re not a bender.” </p><p>Something flickers behind Ty Lee’s eyes, but she doesn’t respond. They’ve reached the outcrop. Taking Azula’s sleeve, she tugs her down as she collapses onto the bench. From here, they can see out across the city. It makes her agoraphobic. How dare the world be bigger than herself, bigger than the quietly beautiful girl beside her? Ty Lee rests her head on Azula’s shoulder, taking in the endlessly dark skies. “I’m glad you agreed to come sit with me,” she hums. “I couldn’t sleep.” </p><p>“You couldn’t?” </p><p>“Not with you out here. Sometimes, I’m scared you’ll have keeled over from exhaustion the next time I find you.” </p><p>Azula dares not look at her, dares not confront what might lie behind Ty Lee’s gaze. “I’m not tired,” she says instead. </p><p>“I never said you were.” </p><p>She doesn’t know what to say to that, not when Ty Lee’s existence is soothing her aching body and draining the frustration from her system. Even her wrist hurts a little less, though Azula doubts that’s anything more than the placebo effect. “Ty Lee?” </p><p>“Yeah?” </p><p>“It’s been five minutes.” </p><p>Lifting her head off Azula’s shoulder to meet her gaze, she asks, “Do you have to go back? It’s late. We could just…” She trails off. Beyond reason, Azula finds herself longing for the unspoken words. </p><p>If Ty Lee had asked her any earlier, her response would’ve been a given—but for some unholy reason, she finds herself hesitating. The city looks just as huge and terrifying as it always has throughout Azula’s fourteen years of living, but Ty Lee’s hair is soft where it brushes her jaw. She doesn’t want to move. In fact, she would protest until her throat was hoarse if anyone tried to drag her away. “I need to train,” she murmurs. “Before tomorrow.” Her eyelids are becoming heavy, drooping like syrup with every blissful second that passes. </p><p>“You don’t need to,” Ty Lee whispers. The moonlight that bleeds through the slowly-thinning clouds above them washes over her soft face, igniting her grey eyes and the golden undertones in her brown hair. “Not right now.” </p><p>As Azula exhales and sinks irrevocably against her, she can’t shake the sense that this could be a homecoming. Whenever Ty Lee visits the palace, every tender spot in Azula’s body and mind fades to white noise. “How long are you staying at the palace for?” she asks, hoping Ty Lee’s family plan to remain for at least another few days.  </p><p>“Forever would be nice,” she responds with a tired laugh. “I don’t know. Can’t I stay with you?” </p><p>“Stay?” That single word is steeped in painful vulnerability. Has she ever been this close to anyone without hurting them? “If you want.” It sounds like a lie or a half-truth; nothing can ever be that simple. Can it?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading, I'd love to hear what you thought! I'm so soft for these girls :') title is from no plans by novo amor.</p><p>come find me on <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/sxpphicazula">tumblr</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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